95 years in his Chosen Spot: Don Outhouse of Canandaigua

CANANDAIGUA — Don Outhouse was born on Seneca Point Road in the town of Canandaigua, and 95 years later he celebrated his birthday on the same road.

Outhouse never had a desire to move out of the area, he said. After all, he was a farmer, and Canandaigua was where the prime farmland was located.

The story of his birth — along with the birth of his twin brother Harold — did not go out as originally planned, said Don’s daughter, Priscilla Crawford.

According to Crawford, the story began on a snowy day, Dec. 6, 1918. The only way to the hospital in those times was by sleigh, she said. Her grandparents — Don’s parents — managed to reach the hospital, but were turned away due to an influenza outbreak.

Don’s pregnant mother returned home to Seneca Point Road, and his father searched for a midwife. Eventually, a Naples woman came to the home and helped to deliver the twin boys.

Crawford now lives in that very house that her father and uncle were born in.

Harold — who died in 2006 — along with Don’s wife and older brother were all school teachers, Don said. He opted to go a different route, and tended to the dairy farm instead.

While his 23rd birthday was 24 hours before the Pearl Harbor bombings, Don said he doesn’t have many memories from the “date which will live in infamy.”

“I was a farmer,” he said. “I didn’t go to war.”

Throughout his time in Canandaigua, Don was in several committees and also participated with the Cheshire Community Church, on Route 21.

He has three daughters, along with multiple grandchildren, he said.

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